The shipment can be moving while the warehouse is still missing the information it needs. A container can arrive before the delivery slot is ready. Documentation can be incomplete. Goods can physically arrive without becoming available inventory.
That gap between "the freight arrived" and "the stock is available to sell" is an operational one. It closes when inbound freight and the fulfilment operation behind it are connected, not run as two separate jobs.
Not a generic list. The capabilities group into three operational stages, from the origin through to the goods being ready to receive.
What is moving, where from, volume, weight, pallet or container profile, and the timing you need.
Collection and the road or sea movement are coordinated to suit the shipment profile.
The relevant shipment documents and customs coordination are lined up before arrival, not after.
Port, terminal or destination handoff is coordinated, with pallet or container movement onward.
The receiving operation knows what is arriving and when, and holds a confirmed slot.
The shipment enters receiving, reconciliation and the workflow that turns it into available inventory.
Getting a container to a warehouse door is not the same as getting stock ready to sell. The next questions are operational: was the warehouse expecting it, is the delivery slot confirmed, is the shipment data available, can the goods be counted and reconciled, and when does stock actually become available for fulfilment?
This is where a connected operation differs from a freight-only provider. The movement has to hand off cleanly into receiving, reconciliation and warehouse control, and the fulfilment operation behind it.
This is not a quote calculator. Freight cost is built from a handful of components, and where you sit on each one moves the number.
Import VAT and Customs Duty are government charges, separate from Stow's freight and fulfilment fees. How they are paid or accounted for depends on the import arrangement. Stow coordinates the operational paperwork and handoffs around the shipment, but does not determine the tax or duty due, and is not your tax or VAT adviser.
They are easy to blur and they are not the same. One moves inventory into the operation. The other moves customer orders out of it.
Ecommerce shipping and carrier management is the outbound side of the operation, moving customer orders out. This page is about the inbound half.
Stow runs from two warehouses, one in the UK and one in Poland. Freight can be coordinated into either, depending on where your stock needs to be available. Moving inventory into a UK fulfilment operation and moving it into an EU fulfilment operation are different routes, with different collection points, freight legs and customs coordination.
Where you hold stock affects delivery speed and cross-border handoffs downstream, including how returns come back. Those are placement decisions worth making before the freight moves, not after. Stow coordinates the inbound freight and the warehouse arrival; formal customs registration, VAT and filing sit with the relevant specialists, and Stow works alongside them rather than replacing them.
Why holding stock inside the EU changes cross-border delivery, and how the inbound side fits.
Read →What UK fulfilment actually costs, and where inbound freight sits in the picture.
Read →Plain-English definitions: FCL, LCL, cross-docking, IOSS, reverse logistics and more.
Read →Freight, warehousing, fulfilment and returns as one connected operation.
Read →Freight forwarding is the coordination of moving goods from an origin, such as a supplier or port, to a destination, such as a fulfilment warehouse. It covers collection, the main freight movement by sea or road, documentation and customs coordination, and final delivery. It moves inventory into the operation, not individual customer orders out of it.
FCL, full container load, means your goods fill a whole container. LCL, less than container load, means your goods share a container with other shipments. FCL suits larger volumes; LCL suits smaller volumes that do not justify a full container.
Yes. Stow can coordinate collection from your supplier or origin point and arrange the road or sea freight movement onward to the receiving warehouse.
Stow coordinates the customs paperwork and documentation handoff for the freight movement, and works alongside the relevant specialists where formal registration or filing is needed. Stow is not your tax or VAT adviser.
Arrival is not the same as available stock. The shipment moves into goods-in: it is received, counted and reconciled against what was expected, then put away before it becomes inventory you can sell.
Roughly: what is moving, where it is coming from, the destination, the shipment profile such as pallets, LCL or FCL, the volume and weight, and the timing. That is enough for a first conversation.
Yes, and that is the point. The freight movement is coordinated with the warehouse that receives it, so goods-in, reconciliation and stock availability are planned around the arrival rather than discovered after it.
Tell us where the stock is, where it needs to go, the shipment profile and the timing. We'll review the movement and the warehouse handoff around it.
Discuss your freight requirements →